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store last night. You know, Sage from Hyper.”
    Uh oh. Jeff was always giving me shit about Brynn, egging me on. I fervently hoped that pussy-whipped son-of-a-bitch hadn’t opened his fucking mouth to Sage.
    “Yeah, I know Sage,” I replied as I began to wind the protective white band around Brynn’s knuckles. “She’s a sweetheart. She’s had kind of a rough time of it, but she’s bound and determined to make things better for her and her kid.”
    She watched my features closely as I wrapped her hand with a fierce concentration and precision. “She has a kinda crazy idea about you… you and me.”
    My eyes flicked up to meet her sea-green gaze momentarily. It was hard to read the expression there. “She’s decided she’s a matchmaker,” I grumbled with a light-hearted chuckle. “I suppose it’s about time she targeted me.”
    I turned my focus back down at her hand, smoothing the tape down before reaching for the other. This was one of my favorite parts about her coming here every day. Something about wrapping her tightly, even if it was just her knuckles, was almost breathtaking.
    It made me want so very much more. To wrap the tape around her wrists… Damn . I needed to stop thinking about that shit with her.
    “Do you really come to Hyper to see me?”
    The directness of the question stunned me. I froze momentarily, waiting a moment before answering, wondering how to phrase it so I didn’t come off like a total creep.
    Except that it was a little stalkerish. Even I could see that.
    “There’s something about you that makes me want to take care of you,” I finally admitted as I finished taping up her hand. “I’m not sure what it is. But it kicked into overdrive when I saw that fucker hit you. So, yeah. I suppose I do. I come to make sure you’re okay.”
    I may have been a creep, but I was an honest one.
    I looked back up at her face, noting a little confusion that passed over her bewitching sad sea-green eyes.
    “Kicked into overdrive ? So you felt like this before we even met?”
    Her voice sounded a little cautious, and I couldn’t quite bring myself to look her in the eye, once again focusing on wrapping the fine knuckles of her other hand and nodding.
    “Doesn’t that seem a little… odd?” she softly murmured.
    “It would if it wasn’t you.”
    “Do you do this sort of thing often?”
    I immediately focused all my attention on her. As uncomfortable as it was disclosing this to her, she appeared equally confused by my reply. Holding her small, delicate hand in mine, I held her gaze with every ounce of seriousness. “I’ve never done anything remotely like this in my life… until you walked by me at Hyper one night.”
    For a long awkward moment, she held my gaze. “Is it weird that I feel the need to thank you?” she whispered.
    “ Haha… no thanks necessary. I kinda like watching out for you,” I chuckled and dropped her hand, taking a step back. “We better get at it.”
    “At it?” Her lovely little mouth dropped open.
    Oh , sweet Jesus, to know what was running through her mind…
    “Yeah… the lessons?” I reminded her.
    Her eyes and mouth both slammed shut for a moment. Then, with a small shake of her head, she inhaled deeply and said, “Lessons… right. Yeah.”
    Picking up from the night before, we started with some stretches. T’ai chi to loosen up the muscles and strengthen, helping to center and soothe her nerves, allowing her to focus and learn.
    This was always a tough for me.
    The smooth movement that highlighted her exceptional ass and breasts. Every time her eyes drifted closed, she seemed to almost trance out.
    I could barely function thinking about how serene she could be… if …
    Dammit … focus.
    We moved on to feigning submission, pretending she’d totally been overcome to lower the guard of the attacker so that she could strike, stun, and get the fuck away.
    This was even tougher.
    Holding her down, pinning her to the floor below me. It took